everybody. this morning on "early today" verge of collapse, the stress about the accuser in the strauss kahn sexual assault case. the senate canceled its vacation plans with a country headed towards a potential debt default crisis. andhat's wrong with this picture? chinese officials catch flack for releasing an obviously doctored photo. captions paid for by nbc-universal television i'm verona dela cruz.

dominique strauss kahn will appear in court with his accuser. nbc 4 new york has the details. >> reporter: defense lawyers will ask for dominique strauss kahn to be released from house arrest amid new questions about his accuser and her credibility. and it appears prosecutors are expected to agree to some reduced bail conditions. that according to a source familiar with the case who says there are now problems for prosecutors and the attempted rape case. the "new york times" reports the victim had contact with a suspected drug dealer and spoke to him about the dsk case and that she allegedly had accepted cash deposits in the past of over $100,000 and that she had numerous cell phones. "the times" says she was not honest with police about that past. the attorney for the maid did

not return repeated calls for comments. it raises questions about her credibility, and defense lawyers plan to ask the judge to now release strauss kahn on his own recognizance. the senate called off next week's recess due to the stalemate on capitol hill over the deficit and debt ceiling talks. for more on that we go live to nbc's tracie potts in washington. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. good morning, know. we hear this morning that there may be at least a short-term deal in the works where congress would be able to work this out so the united states does not default on its bills come august 2nd. here is that short-term deal. $1 trillion in spending cuts, which would allow the u.s. to borrow $1 trillion and prevent a default for at least seven months. another version of that. $2 trillion in cuts, $2 trillion

in borrowing that would prevent default until the end of next year. john boehner's office says it hasn't seen anything on the table yesterday. president bush wants to raise taxes in part, but republicans are furious at him for suggesting this week that they've been taking too much time off as opposed to working on this very important issue. the tone here is, in fact, changing. one of the big concerns and senator harry reid brought this up yesterday, is if they don't come up with a deal soon, how might the markets react and how might that affect ordinary families. veronica. >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. a federal judge has blocked a south dakota law that forces women who choose to have an abortion to face a three-day wait, the nation's longest. yesterday preliminary injunction sought by planned parenthood was granted preventing the law from taking effect today while it's challenged in court, saying it would humiliate and degrade women. the judge said a law is probably

unconstitutional and that there's a public interest in protecting a woman's right to seek an abortion. under the measure women face a 272 hour waiting period and would have to undergo counseling at pregnancy centers that discourage abortion. now here's a look at some other news making news early today in america. in arizona a transformer explosion at a power plant sent plumes of thick, black smoke into the air yesterday afternoon. the blast sparked a raging fire that consumed several pieces of equipment at the substation. crews worked into the night to restore power to an estimated 80,000 customers who lost electricity during the heat of the day. fortunately, no one was injured. in florida a morning excursion turned deadly after a sailboat burst into flames. men were rescued and rushed to a palm beach hospital. one man died as a result of severe burns to most of his body. the other man is said to be in stable condition. in kentucky officials are looking for a truck they believe

caused a 15-car train derailment. sheriff's officials say the rail was offset after a dark green tractor-trailer slammed into the truck and then drove off. cleanup crews hope to have the area cleared by this afternoon. and, finally, a couple of california surfers have come up with a faster way to catch a wave with a motorized surf board. yeah, that's right. the remote controlled wave jet has an engine mounted on the bottom of the board and some critics are calling it xheegt, but the wave jet createors hope their board will encourage more surfers to dive right in. now, for a look at your national and regional weather, here's bill carins with the weather channel forecast. for somebody like me, definitely not cheating. you know, i would prefer to have something like that, a motorized board. totally. >> as far as i think of surfing, the learning part is the most difficult. >> if it's motorized, then there you go. >> give it a shot. good morning, everyone. good morning, veronica.

time for the forecast looking towards the weekend. we'll have wet weather in the northern plains. this is the area of the country that we don't need more wet weather. we all heard about the horrible flooding in the minot area. you are watching just light rain around bids bismarck. also thunderstorms near pierre, south dakota. now, as far as the heat goes today, it's shifting. it's leaving the central plains, and more or less heading for the great lakes. we still have heat warnings out there in the orange area near kansas city and near tulsa. we have heat advisories from chicago to minneapolis and all of wisconsin here in areas of yellow. also our friends in phoenix and tucson will be very hot today. today's forecast temperature-wise, areas in red are all above 90 degrees. you notice it heads to northern wisconsin. your first real blast of heat you have seen, 97 today in chicago. 98 in kansas city. there will be a little bit of humidity in the air too. that's where it gets a little dangerous. of course, we're still in the hundreds and portions of texas and 113 today in phoenix. still having gorgeous weather in

flubd, but this heat will slide your way for the upcoming weekend. it won't be unbearable, but it will be aware of warmer conditions in the south and east. as far as today's forecast is areas of green is where we have scattered storms along the gulf. in the northern plains, i just showed you the radar with the rain already in the dakotas. that's where showers and storms will continue. also minnesota later today. we have your sprinkle in northern maine, but with a lot of dry weather and heat today. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. today in miami you'll have a chance of some storms. it's been good in florida lately. we actually have been getting the wet weather we need. we're finally well into our rainy season. temperatures very warm around st. louis today. 97 with a heat index. 100 to 105. of course, weekend including fourth of july forecast coming up. >> sounds like it's going to be pretty toasty this fourth of july. temperatures in the 100s in some spots? >> that's the story. >> yikes. thanks, bill.

>> stocks surge, corn is planted, and a strange punishment for sumo wrestlers. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you are into clashing, shape shifting, technological bohemaths, then we definitely have a movie for you. coming up, another walk-off between the cubs and giants. the phils lose one of their aces, and we're getting closer to football ending its lockout. now there's no basketball. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here are some of your top headlines this morning. firefighters in new mexico say they are confident they've stopped the 93,000 acre wildfire from advancing towards the los alamos nuclear lab. nearby residents evacuated earlier this week won't be allowed back home until sunday at the earliest. the defense rested its case in the trial of casey anthony on

thursday without the 25-year-old defendant taking the stand. she's accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. during a farewell tribute to defense secretary robert gates, president obama surprised him with a medal of freedom, the country's highest civilian honor. he is being replaced by leon pinetta. prince william and his new wife catherine arrived in canada for their first official trip abroad. the newlyweds arriveed in ottawa to cheering crowds before attending an informal barbecue and a reception. and check this out. ficials in china szechuan province have apologized for releasing a blatantly doctored photo of three men inspecting a highway project so poorly photo shopped, it appears the men are levitating. the photographer admits to combining photos because he felt his originals weren't impressive enough. and now here's an early look

at wall street. the dow opens at 12,414 after gaining 152 points yesterday. the s&p was up 13 points sxsh and the nasdaq rose 33. in tokyo the nikkei added 51 points, while the hang seng climbed 336. well, stocks close a rough month and quarter thursday with their biggest four-day rally since fall last year. this week's rally lifted the dow slilts into the black for the second quarter and left the s&p 500 and the nasdaq with only fractional losses. end of quarter buying by fund managers who typically sell losers and buy winners to sweeten up portfolios helped fuel the rally. also helping midwest business activity showed surprising strength. investors shrugged off a slightly disappointing weekly employment report. greece's parliament approved budget cuts. further measures necessary for new bailouts. metals manufacturer worth sayston jumped 10% after raising

its quarterly dividend and announce aing big stock buyback. ebay rose more than 4% on upgrades in the wake of a fed decision favorable to the company's pay pal service, and this spring farmers mranlted the second largest corn crop in 70 years. good for consumers. it should bring down food prices, but bad for farmers who probably will lose income. as a result, fertilizer maker cf industries fell more than 5%. a mixed verdict from the international trade commission in eastman kodak patent dispute with the makers of iphones and blackberrys sent kodak tumbling. lockheed martin cut about 1,500 jobs, and, finally, in some a somewhat strange crackdown in sumo wrestling a bout fixing scandal, and wrestlers will have their cell phones confiscated and are banned from golfing. a seesaw battle between the giants and cubs, and who is making noise at wimbledon. plus, talk about coming right

into your living room. ah, your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather finally the holiday weekend has arrived. your fourth of july forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." what makes the sleep number store different?

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you. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with strained labor relations already driving the nfl into lockout land, yesterday professional basketball joined the club. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning, first the nfl and now the nba. the league has locked out their players after a collective bargaining agreement ended at midnight. all official business put on hold unless the two sides come to an agreement. they won't be playing basketball in the fall. there's always tennis, and no one is going to lock them out. maria sharapova won in straight sets to advance to her first level of final in seven years. the women's final is tomorrow on nbc. then there's baseball. cubs and giants. pablo sandoval. chicago's giovanni stepped up and belted one in the bottom of the 13th. two games, two walk-offs for the cubs. they won it 5-2. phil advisory a great pitching staff, but they took a hit

against the red sox. a line drive took off his glove and bruised his right hand. jason varitek had to leave the yard twice. a pair of hummers. a win in filly, 5-2. if you have a 3d tv, this is for you. get your glove ready. a foul ball right into your living room. sabathia struck out 13 for his 11th been of the year. mark hit a milestone. home run number 300. yanks beat the brewers 5-0. shut down the red hot mess. new york has scored 52 runs. they couldn't stop verlander. finally, nothing going right on or off the field for the as. they lost to the rockies 5-4, and you know you're having a rough year when your fans have trouble spelling. that should say matsui land. they can't win, and their fans need a dictionary. that's your early look at sports on "early today."

have a very safe fourth of july weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> are there alternatives to mega machines and explosion tiz box office this weekend? your early morning entertainment headlines are just ahead. the american buffalo already has a magesty and mystique all its own, but did you know there's a certain type of buffalo thought of by some as greater than any other? you're watching "early today."

cooler weather in the northern plains. not a lot of wet weather. showers along the gulf saturday, and some strong thunderstorms possible there in the ohio valley. now, by the time we get to sunday just some isolated storms. i think new england is iffing to see probably the worst of it. also storms in the worst of the country. then by the time the fourth of july comes, we'll see fireworks from tennessee down to northern alabama and mississippi from mother nature. if are you watching us on wgal lancaster, pennsylvania, see a collection of art and paintings that celebrate america's pastime at play ball at lancaster museum of art, ask that's your early today event of the day. >> perfect. perfect for fourth of july weekend as well, right? >> should be all right, yeah. you bet. >> absolutely. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. as often happens in summer movie

summer, this weekend's movie is expected to be the box office champ. it will be interesting to see if this champ has the legs to make a run. almost two and a half hour long transformers dark of the moon. yes, i said two and a half hours long. not the biggest opening day. almost $38 million wednesday. it's also being watched as a big test for 3-d, as the largest 3-d release print. 3-d films are complained about that they are too dim. they expected "transformers" to earn about $100 million over the weekend. older audiences not excited by giant robot fights will be drawn to the comedy drama "larry crown" with tom hanks and julia roberts. that should crack the top five, about $15 million. finally, young teen and tween girls will approximately see the comedy "monte carlo" to

finish as high as $10 million. that's definitely on your list. >> this "transformers" manufacture is crazy. some reviews are all right, and some are horrible. >> two and a half hours long, though, and then in 3-d. i don't know. might make -- i don't know. this comes to us from kxas nbc 5234 dallas-fort worth where in nearby greeneville one newborn is getting texas sized attention for its uncommon color. folks have been flocking to the la cod a ranch to see a rare white buffalo. special from the start, the 6-week-old was born in the middle of a thunderstorm which led to his name lightning medicine cloud. the pale colored calf is considered sacred because the goddess of peace once appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf. i'm veronica dela cruz. this is your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

4:28 is the time. 78 degrees outside on this friday, the 1st day of july. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this friday, july 1st, 2011. new from overnight, a d.c. police officer injured in a crash will be okay. you first saw this as breaking news at news 4 at 11:00. the accident happened at randall circle in southeast. the officer was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with injuries that are described as serious but non-life threatening. the driver of the other car was also hurt. the collision may be the result

of a police pursuit that originated in prince george's county. also new, hyattsville and prince george's county police are investigating a deadly stabbing on the 6500 block of america boulevard in hyattsville around 6:30 last night with report of a fight. when officers arrived, they found one man with stab wounds. he was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died. four others are also being treated for non-life threatening injuries. police have not identified a suspect or a motive. a 4-year-old boy from maryland is recovering this morning after police say a 5-year-old shot him on a playground. news 4's jackie benson talked with neighbors who were shocked by what happened in their community. >> it's a tragedy from everything. >> reporter: neighbor devon adams describes his reaction from hearing that a 4-year-old boy who lives in his temple hills apartment complex was shot on the playground by a 5-year-old boy. >> he's a nice little boy. i never would have thought anything. he's not a troubled kid or